Rick Ross (consultant)

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Rick Alan Ross
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1952|11|24
birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
death_date =
death_place =
other_names =
known_for =
occupation = Founder & Executive Director,
Rick A. Ross Institute
website = [http://www.cultnews.com/ Cult News]
[http://www.rickross.com/ The Rick A. Ross Institute]

Rick Alan Ross (born 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States named Ricky Alan Ross) is a consultant, lecturer and "intervention specialist," ["Curriculum Vitae of Rick Ross." Accessed 26 February 2008 at http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/articles.html] with an interest in exit counseling or de-programming people from cults.

He runs the CultNews.com blog [ [http://Cultnews.com Cult News website] ] and founded The Ross Institute of New Jersey in 2003, which maintains a database of information about controversial groups (some of which are listed as harmful "cults" by government agencies [http://www.cftf.com/french/Les_Sectes_en_France/cults.html french government listing] [http://www.ciaosn.be/publications.htm Belgium government listing] ) including press articles, court documents, and essays. [cite web| url=http://www.rickross.com/sg_alpha.html|title=Information Database|publisher=www.rickross.com]

He has been accepted in various courts as an expert witness, interviewed and quoted by the media in the United States and other countries in relation to his expert knowledge in cults/cultic methodologies.Fact|date=August 2008

Ross has been criticized by some of the groups he lists on his website, by some of the scholars who study new religious movements (NRMs), [ [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/smart_anthony.htm "Brainwashing Allegations and the Elizabeth Smart Abduction," by Dick Anthony.] ] [ [http://www.cesnur.org/2005/pa_brown.htm "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Anti-cult Movement: A Human Rights Perspective" by John B. Brown II] .] [ [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm "Melton's Critique of Brainwashing" by J. Gordon Melton] ] and by other individuals in relation to the roles he played in the controversial "deprogramming" case of Jason Scott and the ill-fated FBI standoff with the Branch Davidians. Ross' common response is to label such critics as "cult apologists." [ [http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html "Cult Apologists?" by Rick Ross] ]

Biography

Early life

Rick Ross, named Ricky Alan Ross, was adopted by Paul and Ethel Ross in 1953 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Ross family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1956, where Rick Ross grew up and attended school. Ross' formal education extended through high school, which he completed in 1971.

Rick Ross was convicted of a felony at age 22.Willis, Stacy J. [http://www.tolc.org/vegas.htm "Arrival of cult specialist in Las Vegas stirs debate"] , "Las Vegas Sun", 24 August 2001] He was involved in a jewelry embezzlement scheme at a retail store in Arizona, pleaded guilty and was put on probation, which resulted in the deprivation of some civil rights. Ross admitted his mistake: "I had been in trouble as a young man, and I turned my life around...I never again in my life made another mistake like that." In 1983 the Maricopa County Superior Court vacated both judgments of guilt in the absence of any opposition, dismissed the charges and restored Ross' civil rights. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/Scien82.html Maricopa County] , Superior Court ruling]

Early career

Ross states that he became concerned about controversial religious groups in 1982, when a group that specifically evangelizes Jews "infiltrated" the paid staff of a Jewish nursing home in Arizona where his grandmother was a resident. Working with the director of the facility and the local Jewish community, he managed to stop their activities. According to "The Arizona Republic", Ross joined a local committee that charged Jews for Jesus and other evangelical groups with being "anti-Semitic in that they seek the extinction of the Jewish people by conversion." Ross subsequently went on to work with the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/jews_for_jesus/jews_for_jesus8.html Taking Aim: Efforts to convert Jews draw fire from interdenominational group] , "The Arizona Republic", 1982, By Richard Lessner] [Cleveland Jewish News, 29 July 2004. [http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2004/07/29/news/local/acover0730.txt "KABBALAH CENTRE hawks 'snake oil for the soul"] ] and was appointed to two national committees by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), one which focused on cults and another concerned with interreligious affairs. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/about/about4.html Challenging Cults, Cultivating Family] , "The Greater Phoenix Jewish News", February, 1989, By Elaine DeRosa]

During the 1980s Ross also represented the Jewish community on the Religious Advisory Committee of the Arizona Department of Corrections and was later elected its chairman. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/jewish_prisoner/jewish_prisoner4.html Ross to head religious committee for state corrections department] , "Greater Phoenix Jewish News", 12 March 1986] He also served as the chairman of the International Coalition of Jewish Prisoners Programs sponsored by B'nai Brith in Washington D.C. Ross' work within the prison system included inmate religious rights and educational efforts regarding hate groups. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/jewish_prisoner/jewish_prisoner5.html Three Nation Umbrella Org. to Aid Jewish Prison Inmates, Families] , "National "Jewish Press", April 1986] Ross was also a member of the professional staff of Jewish Family and Children's Service (JFCS) and the Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) in Phoenix, Arizona. [ [http://www.rickross.com/cv.html Curriculum Vitae] , Rick Ross web site]

Full-time private consultant and lecturer

Ross has lectured at University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and University of Arizona [ [http://www.skeptictank.org/gen3/gen01749.htm Minister Sues Cult Expert] , Palm Beach Post, Jul 14, 2001] and has testified as an expert witness in thirteen states. [ [http://www.factnet.org/cris_xpt.htm Cult Experts List] , FACT.net, 2006] According to his publicly posted CV, he has been a paid consultant for the television networks CBS, CBC and Nippon of Japan and retained as a technical consultant by Miramax/Disney for the Jane Campion film "Holy Smoke!" [http://www.rickross.com/biography.html Rick Ross' Biography] ]

In 1986 Ross left JFCS and the BJE to become a full-time private consultant and lecturer. In the following years he was involved in involuntary deprogramming cases, at the request of the families of cult members.

Ross no longer advocates coercive deprogramming or involuntary interventions for adults (he claims to have conducted dozens of such interventions), preferring instead voluntary "exit counseling" without the use of force or restraint. He states that the reasons for abandoning such practices are related to the exorbitant legal fees needed in defending this practice against legal challenges paid for by controversial groups, such as the Unification Church and Scientology. Ross claims these challenges exist because groups called "cults" recognize the effectiveness of deprogramming. He states that although the process has been refined over the years, exit counseling and deprogramming are based on the same principles. [cite web | author=Rick Ross| work=Intervention | title=Deprogramming | url=http://www.rickross.com/prep_faq.html#Deprogramming | accessdate=10 August | accessyear=2005 ]

Ross wrote an 11-page paper in 1995 titled "The Missionary Threat" addressing Jewish concerns about fundamentalist Christian groups that evangelize to Jews specifically in missionary efforts:

Jews around the world are now faced by the greatest missionary threat in history. "Born-again" crusades for converts are now stronger, with more money and power, than ever before. The targets are you, your children, and your parents. Colleges, high schools, nursing homes, centers for the disabled, hospitals, and even prisons are being infiltrated. Missionaries are exploiting the vulnerabilities of the young in transition, the old and lonely, the sick who are helpless, and people in crisis. [Rick Ross, paper, "The Missionary Threat", 1995, 11 pgs]

In 1996, Ross started a website which serves as a public database about cults in general, including controversial groups and movements.

Rick A. Ross Institute

Ross moved to New Jersey in 2001 and two years later founded the Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults and Controversial Groups and Movements, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public charity located in New Jersey, USA. Its stated mission is "public education and research," largely accomplished through its website. In IRS EZ-990 form of 2002, its income is given as below $25,000, which means it is not required to file an annual return with the IRS. [Rick A. Ross Institute, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2002/450/484/2002-450484329-1-Z.pdf IRS: 990-EZ, Guidestar basic report] , 13 August 2005, (Only accessible with free sign-in at guidestar.org)]

The Advisory Board of the RRI include Ford Greene, a California attorney specialized in cult related litigation, Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, co-authors of the books "" and "Holy Terror: The Fundamentalist War on America's Freedoms in Religion, Politics and Our Private Lives."; Psychologist Margaret Singer was also a board member of the Institute until her death.

Cases

The Jason Scott case

In 1990, Ross and associates attempted an involuntary deprogramming of Jason Scott, then an 18-year-old member of the Life Tabernacle Church, affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International. Scott's mother, Katherine Tonkin, had been a member of the church, but had left due to concerns about the means the church used to keep members in line, their focus on material donations to the church, and a relationship between an adult church member and one of her two minor sons, Jason's younger brothers. After leaving the church, Tonkin asked Ross to assist her in the deprogramming of her two minor sons. He persuaded the two minors to leave the church.

In 1991, Tonkin asked Ross to provide similar intervention for her son Jason, which was unsuccessful. Criminal charges of kidnapping were brought against Ross and two others for unlawful imprisonment during the deprogramming. The charges filed were dropped, but re-filed again two years later. The trial ended in acquittal for Ross in 1994.

In 1995, a civil suit was filed by Kendrick Moxon, a long-time member and counsel for the Church of Scientology on behalf of Jason Scott. The jury held Ross liable for conspiracy to deprive Scott of his civil rights regarding freedom of religion. The suit ended with Jason Scott being awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages in the amount of $1,000,000 against CAN, $2,500,000 against Ross, and $250,000 against each of Ross' two accomplices. [Scott v. Ross ( [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=9th&navby=case&no=9635050&exact=1 Ninth Circuit Panel Opinion] [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=9th&navby=case&no=9635050o&exact=1 En Banc Opinions] )] [cite web | title=Scott vs. Ross, Workman, Simpson, Cult Awareness Network: Verdict form| url=http://www.cesnur.org/2001/CAN/02/01.htm | accessdate=13 August | accessyear=2005 ]

The judgment drove CAN, which had already been weakened by the cost of defending over 50 previous lawsuits, (most of them similar and filed by Moxon) into bankruptcy. [cite news | last=Knapp | first=Dan | title=Group that once criticized Scientologists now owned by one | date=1996-12-19 | publisher=CNN | url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9612/19/scientology/ ] ['The Cult Awareness Network", CBS News "60 Minutes" report 28 December 1997 [http://www.xenutv.com/us/60min-can.htm] ] Ross went into bankruptcy as well.

In December 1996, when Scott reconciled with his mother, he settled with Ross for $5,000, and for 200 hours of Ross's services. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/scien416.html Plaintiff Shifts Stance on Anti-Cult Group] , Washington Post, 23 December 1996] Moxon was replaced by Church of Scientology opponent Graham Berry as his lawyer. [cite news
last = Goodstein
first = Laurie
coauthors =
title = Plaintiff Shifts Stance on Anti-Cult Group: Scientology-Linked Lawyer Is Dismissed in Move That May Keep Network Running
work = Washington Post
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = 23 December 1996
url = http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/scien416.html
accessdate = ] Moxon, who had argued in the case that Ross and associates had hindered a competent adult's freedom to make his own religious decisions, unsuccessfully filed to rescind the settlement and appoint a guardian for Scott, whom he argued was "incapacitated." cite news | last=Ortega| first=Tony | title=What's $2.995 Million Between Former Enemies? Stunning settlement frees cult deprogrammer Rick Ross from almost all of $3 million judgment | date=1996-12-19| accessdate=2006-04-27 | publisher=Phoenix New Times | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1996-12-19/news3.html]

Branch Davidians

The involvement of Ross before and during the standoff between Branch Davidians and Federal Law Enforcement agencies, at Waco, Texas has caused some controversy.

Ross deprogrammed Branch Davidian David Block in 1992, prior to the raid. That Davidian was later interviewed by the BATF, which also interviewed Ross. Ross says he deprogrammed another Davidian during the standoff, but this was not reported. He was also one source quoted in the Waco Tribune-Herald's series titled "Sinful Messiah" for which they interviewed over 100 people.

According to the FBI Ross approached them during the standoff and requested that he be interviewed, which he was.
The "Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas (28 February to 19 April 1993)" states that:

The FBI interviewed Ross only at Ross' request, and politely declined his unsolicited offers of assistance throughout the standoff. The FBI treated the information Ross supplied as it would any other unsolicited information received from the public: it evaluated the credibility of the information and treated it accordingly. [US Department of Justice, "Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Part IV, The Role of Experts During the Standoff", 28 February to 19 April 1993. [http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/waco/wacofour.html Available online] ]

Ross denies that this information is correct and states that he was contacted by FBI agent Bobby L. Siller on 4 March 1993 and later by several others which he also names.

Nancy Ammerman insisted the FBI relied too much on Ross, a view which is not shared by the other three experts reporting to the Justice department. In her official report to the Justice Department Ammerman wrote:

In late March, Ross recommended that agents attempt to humiliate Koresh, hoping to drive a wedge between him and his followers. While Ross's suggestions may not have been followed to the letter, FBI agents apparently believed that their attempts to embarrass Koresh (talking about his inconsistencies, lack of education, failures as a prophet, and the like) would produce the kind of internal dissension that Ross predicted. Because Ross had been successful in using such tactics on isolated and beleaguered members during deprogramming sessions, he must have assumed that they would work en masse. Any student of group psychology could have dispelled that misapprehension. But the FBI was evidently listening more closely to these deprogramming-related strategies than to the counsel of scholars who might have explained the dynamics of a group under siege. [ [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/davidians/ammerman.html Waco, Federal Law Enforcement, and Scholars of Religion] , Nancy Ammerman, 1993]

In his account to the Department of Justice, Ross gives very different examples of advice which he gave to the FBI agents.

Ammerman claims that the FBI interview transcripts on the Waco tragedy include the note that " [Ross] has a personal hatred for all religious cults" and would aid law enforcement in an attempt to "destroy a cult". Ross emphatically denies this.

Ross recounted his role regarding the Waco Davidian standoff in a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/waco/waco1.html Davidian Tragedy - Letters Re: Attorney General] , Rick Ross, 25 October 1993] and responded to critics such as Ammerman in a statement published by the Washington Post. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/waco/waco3.html Letters to the Editor - What Happened at Waco] , Rick Ross, The Washington Post, 23 July 1995]

Catherine Wessinger, Professor of the history of religions and women's studies at the Loyola University in New Orleans, characterizes Ross as a "spurious self-styled expert [s] " in her paper "The Branch Davidians and the Waco Media, 1993-2003", [ [http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=6755 "The Branch Davidians and the Waco Media"] , Catherine Wessinger, 2003, Loyola University] in which she criticized the fact that Ross was often cited by the local media. Rick Ross describes her paper on his site as follows:

This rather long-winded "scholarly" review regarding media coverage of the Waco Davidian Standoff was written by cult apologist Catherine Wessinger. [...] . Ms. Wessinger snipes about "spurious self-styled experts" [...] getting too much media attention. The professor then stuffs her footnotes with what looks like a Scientologist's historical guide concerning my past. Could it be that she is angry that the press doesn't quote her more?" [http://www.rickross.com/flamingwebsites.html "Flaming Web Sites"] , Rick Ross, 2000]

Landmark Education

"For details see Landmark Education - Legal disputes - Rick Ross Institute

In June 2004, Landmark Education filed a US$1 million lawsuit against the Rick A. Ross Institute, claiming that the Institute's online archives damaged Landmark's product. In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit with prejudice, supposedly on the grounds that a material change in caselaw regarding statements made on the Internet occurred in January 2005.

NXIVM vs. Rick Ross Institute

NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ee-um), which offers human potential seminars, alleged that Rick Ross of New Jersey published critical commentary authored by a psychologist and psychiatrist regarding its program after obtaining information through alleged copyright infringement. Dr. John Hochman was one of the individuals who evaluated the research. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/esp/esp4.html "A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP"] , February 2003, John Hochman, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles]

In September 2004, a federal district judge in Albany, New York denied NXIVM's request for an injunction to remove the information from the Ross Institute Web site. Subsequently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City [ [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:Jqyllp-6OxcJ:www.ca2.uscourts.gov:81/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDAzLTc5NTJfb3BuLnBkZg%3D%3D/03-7952_opn.pdf+nxivm&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10 Appeals Court decision, NXIVM vs. Ross Institute etc] ] rejected NXIVM's appeal of that decision, saying critical analysis of a confidential 265-page NXIVM manual by two mental health professionals on Ross' site represented criticism, and therefore "fair use" under copyright law. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/esp/esp41.html Court upholds Nxivm ruling] , Times Union, 23 April 2004] In December of 2004 The United States Supreme Court denied without elaboration an appeal to review the NXIVM case. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/esp/esp44.html High court rejects Nxivm appeal] , Times Union, 3 December 2004]

The newspaper article that came to play a role in Ross' fuller understanding of NXIVM's alleged espionage attempts against him was reported by Chet Hardin and published in Albany's altweekly, "Metroland". [http://www.metroland.net/back_issues/vol29_no32/features.html Stress in the Family]

Criticism

Ross is often criticized for his lack of formal training and for his early criminal record by those associated with new religious movements, controversial groups or organizations which he studies, such as the Church of Scientology [http://www.religiousfreedomwatch.org/false_exp/rossr1.html Rick Ross document] , Church of Scientology, "Religious Freedom Watch"] and the Kabbalah Centre, and has been the target of lawsuits from some of the groups he has criticized. Ross responds by stating that he does not challenge the beliefs of the groups discussed, only their behaviour patterns.cite news
last =Zinsli
first =Christopher
coauthors =
title =He ain't afraid of no cults: Jersey City 'cult buster' exposes controversial groups - including local ones
work =Jersey City Reporter
pages =
language =
publisher =
date =14 April 2007
url =http://www.rickross.com/reference/about/about16.html
accessdate = ] Ross was quoted in the "Jersey City Reporter" as stating: "When these groups hurt people ... that's when I'm concerned about the group." Ross receives legal services pro bono from the law firm Lowenstein Sandler.

Hecklers interrupt Ross' speeches and lectures, reminding him that he is a convicted felon;cite news | last=Ortega| first=Tony | title=Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlatans. Clients of deprogrammer Rick Ross call him a savior. Perhaps that's why people he's branded cult leaders want to crucify him. | date=1995-11-30| accessdate=2006-04-27 | publisher=Phoenix New Times | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1995-11-30/news/feature2.html] critics also send copies of his 33-year-old arrest reports to news organizations. However, Ross states that though this is annoying, it helps him remember just how far he has come. He states that during the month he spent in jail awaiting sentencing, "A rabbi convinced him to get himself in shape, reaffirm his Jewish faith and, most of all, give his grandmother something to be proud of."

Referring to criticism by the Kabbalah Centre's Moshe Omer, Ross stated: "It's the same old, same old. It's just the same recasting of a Scientology attack that I've heard many times." Although the Church of Scientology denies colluding with the Kabbalah Centre to spread negative information about Ross to the press, it did state that it was "glad that the information is getting around."cite news | last=Grove | first=Lloyd| title=Daily Dish & Gossip: Busting on the Cult Buster | date=2004-01-13| accessdate=2006-04-27 | publisher=New York Daily News | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/154340p-135778c.html]

cientology

The Church of Scientology maintains a 17-page critique about him supplemented by a 196-page document at "Religious Freedom Watch" consisting of court transcripts, jury verdict forms, news articles, psychiatric records, the bankruptcy filing petition and other documents.

This has been described by Ross as an "ad hominem" attack typically used to avoid any meaningful rebuttal of the arguments, press reports, official documents or other information contained on his website. Ross adds that the Scientology bulletin often "misrepresents, distorts and/or ignores the facts and actual context of my personal history and work." [http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/Scien47.html "Rick Ross Responds to his critics" by Rick A. Ross] ]

Jeffrey K. Hadden

Professor Jeffrey K. Hadden at the University of Virginia wrote that:

Rick Ross is a highly visible entrepreneur who has carved out quite a niche for himself as a self-proclaimed expert and counselor to families desperate to retrieve family members from new religions. His past has been called into question by the Church of Scientology which has uncovered evidence of alleged mental instability and an attempted robbery conviction. [ [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/links.htm Statement] , Jeffrey K. Hadden, University of Virginia]

Ross points out that Hadden himself sought funding from some NRMs including the Unification Church, as revealed by a confidential memo he sent to fellow academics sympathetic to NRMs dated 20 December 1989. [ [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/h14a01.html Memo] , Jeffrey K. Hadden, 20 December 1989, Unification Church memo]

hupe and Darnell

Anson D. Shupe was an expert witness for the plaintiff in the Jason Scott case. He testified against Ross and the Cult Awareness Network. He co-authored a paper with Scientology lawyer Kendrick Moxon and Susan Darnell, [ [http://www.nyupress.org/product_info.php?cPath=48&products_id=2135 Bad Pastors] : Clergy Misconduct in Modern America, Anson D. Shupe, Kendrick Moxon, Susan Darnell, 1 August 2000, ISBN 0814781470] who "manages a credit union in Gary, Indiana and is a civil rights advocate journalist." [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/apologist/apologist28.html Academic Compromise in the Social Scientific Study of Alternative Religions] , Stephen A. Kent, Theresa Krebs, 1998]

In another paper written with Darnell, he is critical about deprogrammers, defining them " [...] as vigilantes and mercenaries rather than as bonafide counselors or therapists". Specifically about Ross, he asserts that "even coercive deprogrammer Rick Ross was terming himself only an Expert Consultant and Intervention Specialist (a unique euphemism for exit counselor) on his late 1990s Internet Website." and that:

Thus, several years after their earnest meetings mavericks like private investigator Galen Kelly and self-proclaimed “Bible-based cult” expert Rick Ross were still physically abducting unwilling adults belonging to unconventional religions and criminally restraining the latter according to the old deprogramming/mind control mythos. Thus, as a would-be profession exit counseling was handicapped internally by a lack of consensus on what constituted legitimate therapeutic means and ends (i.e., force versus persuasion, rational reevaluation and voluntary exit versus forcibly liberating minds); and externally limited by negative publicity thanks to a barrage of attacks by NRMs and increasingly by civil libertarian journalists who claimed the wolves were merely dressing up as sheep to escape public censure and the legal repercussions of their actions. [ [http://www.cesnur.org/2003/shupe_darnell.htm The Attempted Transformation of a Deviant Occupation into a Therapy: Deprogramming Seeks a New Identity] , Anson Shupe and Susan E. Darnell, SSSR/RRA, Norfolk, VA, October 2003]

The comment of Ross on the article is:

Long-time "cult apologist" Anson Shupe [...] broods about "deprogramming" and seems somewhat miffed that despite his professional effort subsidized by Scientology, my cult intervention work continues. He refers to the Jason Scott case, but of course ignores its final outcome. Shupe then supports his opinions largely with footnotes citing other "cult apologists," such as his old professional associate Gordon Melton. Both of these men have picked up substantial checks working for purported "cult" groups.

Shupe and Darnell also assert that Ross engages in anti-Christian writings, claiming that in a letter to Priscilla Coates, a CAN activist, dated 30 July 1987, in which Ross allegedly complained about not getting deprogramming referrals from CAN and that "some parents are so cheap they prefer to let their kids 'bang the bible' than pay." [ [http://www.cesnur.org/2001/CAN.htm CAN, We Hardly Knew Ye: Sex, Drugs, Deprogrammers’ Kickbacks, and Corporate Crime in the (old) Cult Awareness Network] , Anson Shupe, Susan E. Darnell, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Houston, Texas, 21 October 2000]

Articles and Publications

* [http://www.cultnews.com/?p=2124 Why did Landmark Education leave France?] , CultNews, 2006-09-29
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/flanding/flanding24.html The Emergence of New Hybrid/Composite Groups and Counseling Approaches: A Study of Friends Landing] , Report 1999
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/kabbalah/kabbalah27.html Has Madonna Joined a Cult?] , Report 1997
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/fundamentalists/fund175.html The Missionary Threat] , [http://www.publiceye.org/ifas/ Institute for First Amendment Studies] , 1995
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/waco/waco3.html What Happened at Waco] , Washington Post, 1995-07-25
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/waco/waco297.html Forward to "See No Evil"] , 1993-04-25
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/youth/youth6.html Youth with a Mission] , Report 1990
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/teen_challenge/teenchallenge1.html Proselytizing Report: "Teen Challenge"] , Religious Advisory Committee, Arizona Department of Corrections, 26 July 1984
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/fundamentalists/fund5.html Bigotry lurks in born-again Christian doctrine] , The Arizona Republic, 6 November 1982

Television Appearances

Rick Ross appeared in a Season 3 episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit! that dealt with Life Coaches [ [http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/prevepisodes.do?episodeid=s3/life Penn & Teller Bullshit! Season 3: Life Coaching] ] . Ross characterized Life Coaches as a New Age concept and questioned the motives and training of people purporting to be Life Coaches. He compared and contrasted their qualifications and methods with those of licensed mental health professionals. His stated concern was for the wellbeing of those entrusting the direction of their lives to these coaches.

ee also

*Cults
*Anti-cult movement
*Cult Awareness Network

References

External links

;Rick A. Ross Institute
* [http://www.rickross.com/ Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements (Website)]

;Media/news
* [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818 Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech (Law.com)]
* [http://www.xenutv.com/cruise/factor.htm The O'Reilly Factor] , Rick Ross appears as "expert on new religious movements", Bill O'Reilly, 31 May 2005.
* [http://dogmafreeamerica.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=185224# Dogma Free America podcast interview with Rick Ross]